VOlUME 05 ISSUE 02 FEBRUARY 2022
1Dimuthu Kumari, M.S., 2Fernando, R.L.S.
1,2Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
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ABSTRACT
Producing high-quality human resources is one of the main aims of the state university system in Sri Lanka. However, the smooth functioning of the state university system is sometimes interrupted by student activism. Even though the purpose of activism is reasonable on students’ hands, it creates a huge social and economic cost in practice. Various measures have been taken to reduce the negative impact of activism; however, those measures appear to be less effective as the trend has been continued over the period. Hence, the purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of student activism. A questionnaire survey method was used to collect data and a quantitative approach was used in the study under the deductive reasoning method. The results revealed that a higher level of social networking, lower level of social commitments, and left-wing political ideologies stimulate students towards activism. The high level of social networking is the most influential determinant among others. The findings revealed that the factors like administrative failures, the social status of parents, and university subculture were not significantly influenced on activism in the Sri Lankan context. The findings of the study will be useful for administrators in making future policy decisions regarding student activism.
KEYWORDSStudent Activism; Determinants; State Universities
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